Commemoration
The largest Protestant denomination in Canada during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Methodist Church (Canada, Newfoundland, Bermuda) was established in 1884. Its formation marked the culmination of a long series of mergers between groups of British and American origin. The first broad union occurred in 1874 when three denominations, amalgamations of smaller groups, joined to form the Methodist Church of Canada. Nine years later, at meetings held in Belleville, union of all mainline Methodists was proposed. After intense debate, delegates representing the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, the Bible Christian Church of Canada, the Primitive Methodist Church in Canada and the Methodist Church of Canada approved the merger and, on July 1, 1884, the Methodist Church (Canada, Newfoundland, Bermuda) was officially established.
Background
As Upper Canada, and later Ontario, grew, so did its institutions. Improvements in transportation meant that communities that were once isolated were now in regular contact with others across a wider geography. Better communication led to wider distribution of ideas. That, in turn, brought previously disconnected institutions, such as Methodist churches, into regular contact. That led to rationalization of smaller entities into larger associations.